MENTION the English comedy Little Britain and some people start to squirm.

Little Britain, however, is an actual location just behind London's St Paul's Cathedral. There, in a tangle of ancient streets, you almost stumble into Postman's Park and a memorial to ordinary Londoners whose deeds are related on a wall of hand-painted tiles. One tells how William Donald "drowned in the Lea trying to save a lad from a dangerous entanglement of weed". That was in 1876 when factories dominated the banks of the river that meanders through London's east. The Lea's waters provided transport, power and (limited) recreational facilities. The area was smelly and heavily polluted. It would be nice to say that things improved along the Lea, but they did not. Development occurred close by: Canary Wharf, Thames Barrier Park and – just across from where the Lea (as Bow Creek) meets the Thames – the Millennium Dome. The Lea and the Lower Lea Valley languished. Regeneration for London 2012 Oympics London's 2012 Olympics will reverse the Lea's decline. A "green route" is under way from the Hackney Marshes right through to the River Thames. The regeneration of East London, the Thames Gateway, the Lea and the Lower Lea Valley is an integral part of the development of London's new Olympic Park which is 6km from Tower Bridge. The Olympic Park is one of the largest projects in Europe. It is also London's largest new park since Victorian times. It is bigger, in fact, than Hyde Park and native species – oak, birch, holly, ash – will provide a home for wildlife. The canals are being dredged and the waterways cleaned up. East London will also gain an Olympic stadium, aquatic centre and Velopark, an Olympic Village and the Stratford International railway station which links Paris to Stratford in two hours and Central London to suburban Stratford in seven minutes. The first Olympic venue opened in June. The Millennium Dome, reinvented and renamed The 02, is now a state-of-the-art entertainment and sporting venue, equal in size to two Wembley Stadiums or 10 St Paul's Cathedrals. The 02 will host the gymnastics and basketball finals. Justin Timberlake, Barbra Streisand, Elton John, Prince and the Rolling Stones have performed in The 02 arena which employs 1500 people. Loving those Eastenders It's not difficult to warm to East London and its inhabitants. Many have made their own mark already. David Beckham was born hereabouts and, in the 1960s, another soccer legend, the late Bobby Moore, who was voted the best British player ever, was the star of West Ham United. Earlier, local girl Vera Lynn, whose songs inspired Britain during the World War II London Blitz, made her singing debut at East Ham Working Men's Club. She's famous for We'll Meet Again and The White Cliffs of Dover. These days the pleasantly down-at-heel streets offer tourists a refreshingly different perspective of this city. There's an old music hall, weatherboard dispensary, and pubs stocked with down-to-earth people, some of whom claim to hate Little Britain. Others insist it's hilarious. Newham borough, which these days represents an amalgamated East Ham and West Ham, last year introduced a pilot scheme for healthy eating, together with Clean Air Awards. That's really something for a borough characteristically linked to footy and pies 'n' mash. Still, such a concept is hardly new to London. In the shadow of St Paul's Cathedral, the Black Friar pub does a roaring trade around a smoke-free bar and a heritage-listed saloon where yet another series of old inscriptions express the hopes and hazards of being a Londoner. Margaret Turton was a guest of VisitBritain and Accor Hotels. Sunday Mail (QLD)